Silencing the Dentist’s Drill

By Christopher Shea

A Hungarian dentist Gergely Gyimesi treats a patient in his cabinet in Budapest. (ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

British researchers have developed a device that might get some fearful souls back in the dentist’s chair: a noise-cancellation system that homes in on the high-pitched whine of a drill.

The product was the brainchild of Professor Brian Millar, of the Dental Institute at King’s College London. He says he was inspired by the British carmaker Lotus’s efforts to stamp out engine noise in its luxury vehicles, but the technology also resembles that used in popular noise-canceling headphones.

The device was designed to work in tandem with an MP3 player: A patient plugs her headphones into the device, then plugs the device into the player. The device analyzes the sound wave created by a drill, creates an inverted wave, and adds that wave to the headphones along with whatever music is playing. Voilà: no more whine.

Comments (2 of 2)

If it works as described it could be very helpful for the phobic patient and every patient. Many dentists already offer headphones. Combining that with high frequency noise cancellation seems like it might have the potential to readily and easily create a more relaxing environment.

5:34 pm January 13, 2011

The Dental Maven wrote :

...another gimmick that's destined to collect dust on the shelves of dental offices.